Unless you’ve been living in some self-imposed exile then you’ll be well aware that Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is only a couple of months away, with the final trailer hitting the interwebs later today. But once this trilogy has come and gone, where does the Jurassic franchise go?
There’s likely far more riding on Fallen Kingdom than most fans realise. Whether you liked the final product of Jurassic World or not, the one thing that cannot be debated is the fact that it made an absolutely huge amount of money for Universal. But, it had the good fortune of being a beloved franchise returning in a big way after a significant period of absence. Similar in vein to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World was always going to make a large amount of money at the box office, especially given Chris Pratt’s meteoric rise into the main stream following Marvel’s smash-hit Guardians of the Galaxy.
Fallen Kingdom doesn’t have that “big comeback” luxury. Yes it will to some extent ride the coat-tails of Jurassic World’s success with the general movie-going audience, but for a much larger degree it will need to stand on its own two feet and a box office disappointment could significantly alter the future of the franchise.
All we know about the third and final installment of the franchise, for now let’s take a shot in the dark and call it Jurassic World: Extinction, is that it’s releasing June 11 2021. But come June 12 2021, is that it? Are we done with the franchise?
In my own opinion there are a number of routes that the franchise could take, and as previously mentioned I think a lot of it will depend on the success of Fallen Kingdom at the box office.
The first and most likely route in my opinion is that the franchise takes an extended leave of absence, at least on the film front. Whilst it’s possible that Extinction ties together every loose end and leaves the story with a finality to it, what’s more likely is that it ties together enough story threads that should it be the last ever movie we can say we’re satisfied, but with enough openness that stories can still be told in the future.
If this is the route they choose to take then I won’t be complaining. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and with the announcement of prequel novel The Evolution of Claire by Tess Sharpe Universal have already shown that they’re not averse to building this universe with extended canon.
If I had to put money down on what I thought would happen, I’d say that Extinction will end in a fashion that doesn’t directly set up any plots, but leaves the world in a state whereby something could always be worked out in the future. Universal would then take a back seat and steer away from the movies, but focus on both extended canon novels, games (and possibly a Netflix/Amazon TV show?) as well as giving Jurassic Park at Universal Studios a complete overhaul into Jurassic World. The latter part might not be popular among fans of the franchise, but it’s fitting and probably the right thing to do in the long run in order to keep the franchise’s presence at the park relevant and modern.
This method would allow the franchise to take a breather, whilst keeping it relevant. Then in 5-10 years time they can return and start fresh with a new trilogy, taking the story in whatever direction they see fit. The key here would be not to rush anything, it’s the best route to take if this franchise wants to have a long-term future. We just have to hope that Universal could say no to the money of more films.
Of course there’s always the possibility that they carry on making feature films. Universal is at the end of the day a business and the best way for them to make money is to milk this franchise dry. Spin-off films, sequels and prequels could all be possibilities if that’s what the executives wanted.
Let’s just hope we live in the brightest timeline and not the darkest.
What do you think the future holds for the Jurassic franchise? Would you like to see a new trilogy start right after the Jurassic World trilogy finishes, or would you prefer a break in order for the franchise to come back feeling refreshed? Also let us know if you’re excited about The Evolution of Claire, it’s very likely that it’s a test run for extended canon content, so if you want more novels in the future make sure you go out and buy yourself a copy.
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